The invention relates to belt conveyors, particularly belt conveyors adapted to receive and positively engage an object to be transferred thereon.
It has been a continuing objective in the art of belt conveyors to provide a system for transferring material from a first location to a second location with minimal danger of the material spilling or falling from the belt. One such proposed solution utilizes opposed belts which hold the materials between adjacent surfaces. This technique requires a substantial structural framework and causes significant problems in belt wear.
Another technique is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,537 which provides an endless conveyor belt consisting of a tubular member formed with a longitudinally extending slit that permits the tubular member to be spread from a closed to an open condition. The tubular member is formed from resilient material and remains in a substantially closed position. The tube is supported between a pair of laterally spaced endless drive V-belts such that the lateral movement of the belts from one another opens the slit, and movement of the V-belts towards one another permits the resilience of the tubular material to close the slit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,809 discloses a tubular endless belt with lateral V-beltlike beads to be engaged by drive and idler pulleys. The tubular belt has cliplike springs to load the longitudinal edges of the belt into an abutting relationship. Pressure rollers along the conveyor belt separate the belt against the bias of the clip springs to load and unload the belt. Alternatively, the tubular belt can be opened by pulling the V-belts apart through the use of laterally distanced idler pulleys.
It is an object of this invention to provide a belt conveyor apparatus for the transfer of, for example, a steady stream of objects from one location to another without dropping or releasing the object.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a belt conveyor system which transfers objects from a first elevation through a second elevation to a third elevation without dropping or releasing the objects.